Stand for holding venetian blinds



April 4, 1953 o. BRITTON STAND FOR HOLDING VENETIAN BLINDS 2 SHEETSSHEET1 Filed July 11, 1949 II Owenn'flon INVENTOR.

Fig. 2.

A ril 14, 1953 o. BRITTON 2,634,450

STAND FOR HOLDING VENETIAN BLINDS Filed July 11, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 0wen Bri/fon JNVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 14,1953

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STAND FOR'HOLDING VENETIAN BLINDS OwenBritten, Versailles, Ky. Application July 1i, 1949, Serial No. 104,121

2 Claims.

When Venetian blinds become soiled and require cleaning, it is difficultto clean them properly while in place at the windows or doors. It isaccordingly the common practice to take them down and wash them within abath tub or the like. This is a laborious and time-consuming procedurewhich is difficult to perform, and it involves extending portions ofeach blind at a time while washing the same. As the blinds are unwieldyand difiicult to handle in this way, the slats are often displaced andbent or damaged, and the operating cords frequently become tangled.

The primary object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a stand bymeans of which a Venetian blind may be suspended in an extendedcondition and held against material swaying, whereby said blind isreadily accessible from both sides with the parts thereof in naturalcondition and relation so that the blind may be quickly and thoroughlycleaned without damage to the blind parts, displacement of the slats, ortangling of the operating cords.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a stand of suitable heighthaving a cross-bar from which the blind to be cleaned may be suspended,suspending devices being placed on said cross-bar and movable thereon toengage over the ends of the suspension bar of the blind and therebyremovably suspend the latter in a relatively low or readily accessibleposition while in an extended condition, and means being carried by thelower portion of the stand for detachable engagement with the lower tiltbar of the suspended blind to hold the latter against material swayingor flexing when washing the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stand of the abovecharacter which is of simple and durable construction and mainlycomposed of pipe sections and fittings which permit the stand to bereadily erected and to be readily knocked down and folded so as torequire little space when stored away.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a stand embodying the presentinvention and illustrating a Venetian blind suspended and held therebyin position for cleaning.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side view thereof looking to the right of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line4-4 of Figure 1.

Figures 5 and 6 are enlarged fragmentary sec- 2 tions taken respectivelyon the line 5-5 andon the line 66 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the linel'! of Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the stand includes foldable sideframes 5 and 5, a crossbar 6 connecting the upper ends of said sideframes, and suspending devices 1 and 1 slidably mounted on the cross-bar6 and adapted to be removably engaged over the ends of the topsuspension bar 8 of a Venetian blind B to suspend the latter in a lowposition while in an extended condition.

Each side frame comprises a pair of hinged legs 9 and 9 connected attheir lower ends by a chain It! or the like to limit spreading thereofto proper supporting position. As shown, the crossbar 6 is composed of aplurality of pipe sections separably connected by a coupling H, and eachof the legs 9 and 9' is also composed of pipe sections similarlyconnected by a coupling [2 so that these parts may be knocked down tosmall size for convenient storage. Each leg 9 is provided at its upperend with a T-fitting l3 having one branch loosely and removably screwedonto the adjacent end of cross-bar 6 to permit said leg to be removedand to be freely swung to and from the associated leg 9. A nipple I4 istightly screwed into the other branch of each fitting l3, and theadjacent leg 9 has an elbow fitting l5 tightly screwed on the upper endthereof and loosely screwed onto the adjacent nipple M to permit saidleg 9 to freely swing to and from the associated leg 9. Thus, the legsof each side frame are removable from the cross-bar and may be swungtoward each other for folding said frame.

Means is provided at the bottom of the stand to engage the lower tiltbar l6 of the blind and hold the latter against material swaying orflexing when suspended from the cross-bar 6 in an extended condition. Asshown, such means may consist of a chain ll connecting and detachablyconnected at its ends to the chains It intermediate the ends of thelatter, and short chains l8 attached to the chain H and having clasps 9at the free ends thereof adapted to releasably grip the ends of the tiltbar It.

For supplying water used in washing the blind, a section of hose 20 maybe clamped near one end, as at 2 I, to one of the legs, said hosesection having a nozzle 22 at its other end and adapted to have itsfirst-named end coupled to a further hose section connected with a citywater supply line.

It will be seen that the blind may be readily suspended and held by useof the present stand so that said blind is conveniently accessible atboth sides for being easily and quickly cleaned by a person standing onthe ground. The blind is held in a normal extended condition so as toavoid damage thereto, displacement of the slats, or tangling of theoperating cords. While the illustrated construction is preferred, theinvention is susceptible of modification and changes in details ofconstruction, such as fall within the spirit of the invention asclaimed.

Having described the invention, claimed as new is:

1. In a stand for holding a Venetian blind in extended condition forbeing cleaned, the combination of side frames, a cross-bar connectingthe upper ends of said side frames, suspending devices mounted on saidcross-bar and engageable over the ends of the top suspension bar of theblind to suspend the latter in an extended condition, andmeanscarried'by the lower p501, tions of the frames engageable with thelower tilt bar of a suspendedblind to hold the latter against materialswaying oi" flexing, each side fiaifife including" 'a pair of downwardlydiverging legs, said means comprising a flexible connecti'ng' memberconnectingthe lower portions of the legs of each side frame, a furtherflexible memwhat is ber' extendin parallel to said cross bar andconnecting" 'said leg "connecting members, and clasps' attached to thelast named member and engageablwith the'lovver'tilt bar' of the blind,

2, In a stand for holding a Venetian blind in extended ccnambn" forbeing. cleaned, the combination of'side frames, a cross-bar extendingbetween and detachably connected to the upper ends of said side frames,suspending devices mounted on said cross-bar and engageable with the topsuspension bar of the blind to suspend the latter in an extendedcondition, and means carried by the frames engageable with the suspendedblind to prevent undue swaying or flexing thereof, each side framecomprising a pair of legs pivotally connected to said cross bar at theirupper ends and foldable into parallel positions with respect to oneanother, said means comprising a flexible connecting member connectingthe lower ends of the legs of each frame to limit spreading thereof, aflexible member extending parallel to said cross bar and connecting saidleg connecting members, and means to conmet the last-named member to thelower tilt ba 91 th blind- OWEN BRITTON.

References Cited in the file of this patent N ED. TATEfi PATEN NumberName Date 714,554 Augustus Nov. 25, 1902 832,163 Ruger, Jr, Oct. 2, 1906836,551 Werner Nov. 20, 1906 911,770- Shively Feb. 9, 1909 1,237,860Beausejour Aug. 21, 1917 1,483,117 Russell' Febl 12, 1924 1,556,624Pavenick Oct. 13, 1925 2,318,884 O Kel1ey- May- 11, 1943 2,325,456Williams July27, 1943 2,443,859 Jacobs June 22, 1948 FOR BA ENT NumberCountry Date 731,259 France May 24,1932 818,475 France June. 21, 1937

